NEWS REGARDING SHAHEN HOVASAPYAN MURDER
Lragir, Armenia
July 25 2007
Prosecutor General Aghvan Hovsepyan stated in a briefing on July 25
that the murder of Stepan Zatikyan, the son of the former head of
Malatia Sebastia community Vahan Zatikyan has been revealed, all the
participants of the murder have been exposed. According to Aghvan
Hovsepyan, efforts are made now to reveal all the circumstances
of the crime. "Today we have information about the killers and the
initiators which show that the motive of the murder was personal,
non-friendly relations. The investigation revealed evidence that
about 30 thousand dollars was paid," Aghvan Hovsepyan stated.
He also provided information about another scandalous murder a few
years ago in Yerevan, the killing of Goga, a criminal authority, in
front of the Arabkir branch of Armeconombank. Earlier the head of the
department of investigations on important crimes stated during the
meeting of the college of the Office of Prosecutor General that Haik
Israelyan had been arrested for the murder of Shahen Hovasapyan, the
head of the department of investigation of the State Tax Service. It
became known that Israelyan is also the killer of Goga. "You already
know we have arrested a person charged with the murder of Shahen
Hovasapyan. A person was convicted for the murder of Goga a few years
ago, a representative of the criminal world, if you remember. A
person was tried for this crime who is now serving sentence. New
circumstances were revealed, and the process was investigated by the
detectives for important cases, and evidence came that Haik Israelyan
was the killer," says the attorney general.
He says presently the person who is serving sentence for the murder
of Goga was an accomplice. "Even the clothes, he described Haik
Israelyan’s clothes as his own clothes because there were witnesses
who said the killer was wearing such clothes. But when we examined
the clothes, we found hair which belonged to Haik Israelyan. The
previous investigating body, since he had confessed, testified to
the circumstances of the murder, they could not doubt that another
person might have committed the crime. After the revelation of new
circumstances we appealed to the Court of Cassation. The Court of
Cassation cancelled the verdict, and now we will prosecute these two
persons," Aghvan Hovsepyan said.